NORTH RIDGEVILLE - Residents’ water rates will hold steady in 2013 after City Council agreed to cancel a planned rate hike.

Council voted unanimously Feb. 19 to eliminate an automatic water rate increase of 13.65 percent scheduled to go into effect this year. The automatic increase normally goes into effect each year based on how much the city’s water rates go up from its suppliers, Avon Lake, Elyria and the Rural Lorain County Ohio Water Authority.

However, Auditor Chris Costin and Mayor David Gillock advised council the department could do without the automatic increase this year because the water department currently has a surplus of funds.

The amount of money left in the coffers at the end of each year varies, in part based on expenses and how much water residents consume in a given year, Gillock said.

“Rather than pass along this (rate) increase, we believe we’ve been prudent over the last year or so and can do without it,” said Councilman Dennis Boose, who chairs council’s utilities committee. “It’s nice to let the residents know that we’re in a position to not automatically increase their fees.”

Follow Us

cleveland.com is powered by Plain Dealer Publishing Co. and Northeast Ohio Media Group. All rights reserved (About Us).The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Northeast Ohio Media Group LLC.